Police arrest Al Shabaab Recruiters in Eastleigh Crackdown

Police have arrested two Al Shabaab recruiters among several other persons in Eastleigh estate following a sting operation after a tip-off from locals who led anti-terror police to a dingy establishment that the two of them ran. The two were reported to be well-known Sheikhs in a local mosque and most of the locals believed their business to be legitimate.

The said establishment, disguised as rehabilitation centre for irate and drug addicted youth, was however found to be an active radicalization centre with various paraphernalia found that connected the establishment’s operations to those of the Al Shabaab militant group.

youths were also found locked up in various rooms and after being released, they reported abuse and torture in the hands of their hosts. They described the use of drugs and other concoctions that were constantly administered as punishment whenever they were disobedient or refused to indulge in the various radicalization activities. These activities included forced recitals of selected verses from the Qur’an for hours on end coupled with subsequently forced screenings of rogue Islamic teachings and distorted Sharia among other deluded forms of radicalization.

“They want us to join Al Shabaab and fight. But when we refuse they give us drugs and torture us!” shouted a young man as one of the handcuffed sheikhs walked by.

In another wing, several females were also found huddled together in fear after they thought their captors had come back to take them. They would later cite rape and battery as their daily routine in the hands of the rogue Sheikhs and some of their employees, with some mentioning regular human trafficking across the border to Somalia.

“Some of us were abandoned by our husbands and they brought us here. Nobody knows where we are.” said one Halima after she was released from the small cell.

The suspects were later bundled into a waiting police truck and taking to Kilimani police station where they are to be remanded awaiting trial. The community in Eastleigh and Muslim faithful, in general, have been advised to be careful and look out for rogue religious leaders and also report any suspicious establishments even as police crackdown on Al Shabaab and terrorist elements living within various communities.